Other conditions decisions — 2015

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of advanced periodontal disease has been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for a skin disability. The case is being remanded for further development, including scheduling a VA examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by VA medical care or treatment, and thus denied entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for cause of death.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his bilateral shin splints.

The Board has determined that the appellant, who paid for her mother's funeral expenses out of her own money and held her power of attorney, is eligible to receive accrued benefits for reimbursement of those expenses. The amount will not exceed the amount of accrued benefits available.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's dental malocclusion is a congenital defect and not aggravated by service, thus denying his claim for service connection for a dental disorder for compensation purposes.

The Board denied the Appellant's claim for a Government-furnished headstone or grave marker because her brother died prior to November 1, 1990 and is already marked by a privately-purchased marker. The law does not authorize VA to provide another government headstone or marker in such cases.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of the Veteran's death and the relationship between his service-connected conditions and his death. The appellant must provide additional medical opinions on these issues.

The Veteran's post-operative residuals of hydrocelectomy with atrophy of the left testis are currently evaluated as noncompensable. The Board finds no evidence to support a higher rating. For ED, the Veteran has not established service connection due to lack of nexus between his current condition and service-connected disability.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed Crohn's disease and atrial fibrillation, both due to herbicide exposure. The case is therefore REMANDED for further action.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed bilateral varicose veins, including whether they are related to service.

The Board has determined that a reduction from a 40 percent evaluation to a 10 percent evaluation for mild degenerative changes with grade I spondylolisthesis at L5/S1 was proper, but the current effective date of March 1, 2013 is maintained. The Veteran's symptomatology more nearly approximates a 20 percent evaluation from that date.

The Veteran's service-connected disability does not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and therefore the claim for TDIU is denied. The SMC based on need for aid and attendance claim remains pending.

The appellant was not married to the Veteran for at least one year before his death, they had no children together, and their marriage did not occur before January 1, 2001. Therefore, she does not meet the legal requirements for recognition as the Veteran's 'surviving spouse' for VA death pension purposes.

The Board has determined that recovery of the overpayment would violate equity and good conscience, thus granting the waiver of recovery for $15,314.00 in death pension benefits.

The Veteran is found competent to manage her VA disability payments and therefore restored to competency status for VA benefits purposes.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for vaginitis is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and opinion regarding her current diagnoses of vaginitis.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities are adequately addressed by the schedular criteria, and no extraschedular evaluation is warranted.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for defective vision and borderline personality disorder, finding that these conditions are secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the evidence does not support a finding that his esophageal cancer was related to exposure to Agent Orange. The Board therefore denied the appellant's claims for service connection for cause of the Veteran's death, DIC benefits, and burial benefits.